New Anthurium

My regular local source of fresh eggs got a new job and is no longer convenient. My back up options (farm stands) are all closed for the winter. BUT a local garden center has a Winter Market in their greenhouses. Local meats, home made breads and local eggs. So we drove half an hour to pick up some eggs.

Did I mention it's in the Greenhouse? 

I love visiting greenhouses in winter. But I'm often feeling so deprived of green that I end up buying houseplants. 

I'm kind of full up of houseplants right now. So I swore I wouldn't buy any.

I only came home with five. And two were small.

Today, however, I'm only going to post pictures of my new Anthurium. I've been having problems with my Anthuriums this winter (probably low humidity and I recently found mealy bugs. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO) so I swore I wouldn't buy any new ones until I figured out the problem.

Yeah, right.

Then I saw this beauty.

Gorgeous purple flowers. Yum. And a slightly pinkish purple, different from my other purples.

The flower age more pink.

Still a nice color.

AND she's pregnant!

It's too bad (ha!) I don't live closer to Mr. Subjunctive. If I did I'd constantly be dropping off plants and seeds in the middle of the night. This would be one of them.

Of course he'd probably figure me out and in turn drop off plants at my house in the middle of the night and I'd end up with a house full of over 1000 plants like he has so maybe it's good for both of us that we're not feeding each others addictions.

New Houseplants!

I just got back from a trip to one-of-the-states-in-the-middle to visit The Husband's family for Christmas. I don't fit in with his family very well and the bed they put me in is a twin bed with a mattress that hasn't been replaced since sometime in the early 80s so I don't sleep well, either.

My mother in law has ONE houseplant. ONE.

BUT. About half an hour from my in-laws lies the land of PATSP, Kingdom of Mr. Subjunctive himself. He and I have been Internet Friends for years and on this trip I finally got to meet him for the first time IRL.

Fortunately he didn't turn out to be a very patient serial killer who lures unsuspecting plant aficionados to their dooms with offers of houseplants. [And neither did I]

I thought I was houseplant obsessed but I've got nothin' on Mr. S. Wow. I could tell we had the right house when I drove up and couldn't see inside for the wall of green. Very cool.

Mr. Subjunctive lives in a cute little house with his significant other and Sheba, a sweet dog who decided The Husband and I were great because whenever I feel fur under my hand I automatically start petting. 

He has has plants everywhere. Where there isn't enough natural light there are artificial lights to support the plants. I wonder about his power bill.

Best of all I have some new ideas for my place. I don't think I'll ever get as many plants as he has but I could use some more space for a few more plants [and so it begins...].

AND he very kindly sent me home with a few, small, plants. Meet the newest additions to my jungle [sorry for the poor quality of the images, the plants are all in my shower after getting a post-flight watering and the lighting isn't great]:

Aeschaynanthus longicolis

Bilbergia borracho [the only one with any noticeable damage from going through TSA screening and then being stuffed under an airline seat - two badly bent leaves. It should recover]

Bilbergia nutans

Columnia orientsomethinga [I con't really translate my handwriting and couldn't find this one on the interweb with a quick, pre-coffee search this morning. I'm sure I'll get a comment with the correct spelling soon, right, Mr. Subjunctive?]

Euphorbia leuconeura

Also known as the Madagascar jewel

Leuchtenbergia principis

Syngonium wendlandii

And, not from Mr. Subjunctive but found in a hardware store in The Husband's hometown, a nice variegated Hoya. They also had a variegated Peace Lily [Spathophyllum] that was just too big to try and carry on a plane. I'm not a big fan of most Spathophyllum but this would have been nice for the leaves. I do like the jumbo sized Spathophyllum but I just don't have room for one.

It was nice to meet an Internet Friend in person. Mr. Subjunctive is a genuinely nice guy with a nice dog, good taste in plants, movies, and music. As I was leaving I commented on how nice it was to meet someone like me, most people aren't like me and sometime that makes me feel like an outsider. He suggested it was in part because I am intelligent. I think that's part of it but it's also that I am willing to be myself, no matter what anyone else thinks. Thanks, Mr. Subjunctive, for the hospitality, for the plants, and for just being a nice guy.

Now to send The Husband to the hardware store to pick up some supplies...